Furnace feeding apparatus.



'No. 724,376. PATENTED MAR. 31, 1903.

G. W BRAY. FURNACE FEEDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED M342, 1902. N0 MODEL 4; sums-sum 1,

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PATENTED MAR. 31, 1903.

0. W. BRAY. FURNACE FEEDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 102.

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WITNESSES PATENTED MAR. 31, 1903.

C. W.-BRAY. FURNACE FEEDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 1902;

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FURNACE FEEDING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12 1902.

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CHARLES WV. BRAY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN TIN PLATE COMPANY, OF ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, A COR- PORATION OF NEIV JERSEY.

FURNACE FEEDING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 724,37 6, dated March 31, 1903. Application filed March 12, 1902. Serial No. 97,823. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. BRAY, of Iittsburg, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Furnace Feeding Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a sectional top plan view showing a series of furnaces provided with my improved feeding apparatus. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of one of the furnaces, showing the floor arrangement. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, on a larger scale, of the feeding mechanism. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the lines IV IV of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the feeding mechanism. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the same, and Fig. 7 is a detail sectional View of a clutch I employ.

My invention relates to the feeding of plates into heating-furnaces of the continuous type and is designed to provide a simple and effective feed mechanism which will operate upon a pile of plates or bars and feed them singly or by groups, and, further, to provide means for operating any one of a series of feed mechanisms from a common point and for stopping the feed automatically after one plate or set of plates has been fed in.

It also consists in the furnace arranged to prevent the plates from mounting each other during the pushing forward of the row.

In the drawings I show a series of continuous heating-furnaces 2, 3, and 4, of which there may be any desired number. These furnaces have feed-openings 5 and exit-openings 6, connected by suitable supports 7, upon which the row of plates rests as they are pushed forward. I preferably incline the supports 7 at an angle to the horizontal either upwardly or downwardly, preferably the latter, as shown in Fig. 2, in order to prevent one plate climbing upon the next as the row is pushed forward by the entering plate. In front of each feed-opening I mount an inclined table 8 upon side supports 9 9, and to this table are adj ustabl-y bolted side guides 10 10, between which the plates are piled, as indicated at 11 in Fig.3. The guides are provided in front with inwardly projecting flanges 12, which hold the plates in place, these flanges terminating above the platform to allow one or more of the lower plates to be forced forwardly. The table is provided with longitudinal slots through which project pushfingers 13, pivotally mounted upon a sliding plate 14, moving within guides 15 at its side edges. This plate is reciprocated by link connection 16 with a rocking lever 17, trunnioned at 18 and pivotally connected at its lower end with an eccentric-rod 19, extending from eccentric-strap 20. The eccentric 21 for each lever loosely surrounds a common shaft 22 and may be connected with the shaft by means of a clutch having a disk 23, with a hole into which a pin 23 is projected by a spring 24. A wedge 2% acts to prevent the clutching action, and when it is desired to start the clutch the wedge is raised by its connection with the actuating-cord leading to the pulpit, when the pin will engage the hole during one revolution, when the wedge will force out the pin against the'action of the spring. One form of such a clutch is shown in my Patent No. 698,438, dated April 29, 1902. The actuating-cord a for each clutch extends over suitable guide-pulleys 25 to an operators pulpit, (shown at 26,) and by drawingupon the proper cord the operator may thus start any of the feed mechanisms into action. In order to hold down theplate as it is fed along the table, I provide in front of each feed mechanism bent fingers 27, the stems of which extend up and are adjustably secured to a U- shaped cross-bar 28. The end legs of this crossbar are pivoted to the outer sides of the receiving-case, as shown at 29, and the fingers are yieldingly held in the position shown in Fig. 2 by means of the transverse'angle 30, conneoted at each end to arms 31, pivoted to the sides of the case at 32. The tension-springs 33 act to normally draw the fingers forward, leaving a space between them and the table of a thickness equal to the thickness of the plate or set of plates to be fed. In front of the yielding fingers I provide yielding springguides 34,'having inclined upper noses 35, and secured to a vertically-adjustable bar or support 36, secured to supports 37 at the sides. By means of the tilting yielding fingers the fiat plates will be held while the pusher ejects the lowermost 'plate or plates, while a badly-curved plate will strike the fingers, swing the bars upwardly and outwardly, and pass out over the inclined nose of the holddown 34.

The ad vantages of my invention result from the simple and effective construction of the feed mechanism, which will feed the fiat plates and allow the badly-curved plates to pass out without injuring the apparatus, also from the means for operating any one of the series of feed devices from a common point and for automatically stopping the feed after one operation of the pusher.

Many variations may be made in the form and arrangement of the feeding mechanism, furnaces, and the connections without departing from my invention.

I claim 1. A heating chamber or chambers having a series of feed-openings, a series of stationary feeding devices for moving plates thereinto, and starting connections for 'the'feed devices extending to a common point; substantially as described.

2. A series of feed-channels, each having independent feeding mechanism for plates, clutch connections for the feed, and starting connections for the clutches extending to a common point; substantially as described.

3. In plate-feeding mechanism, side guides for a set of plates having an opening in the bottom of the front portion, a pusher arranged to act upon the bottom plate or plates, and holddown devices in front of the opening; substantially as described.

4. In plate-feedin g mechanism,a verticallyextending holder for a stack of plates with a bottom front opening, a pusher device arranged to eject the lower plate or plates, and a yielding holddown device in front of the opening and beneath which the plates are forced; substantially as described.

- 5. A furnace having an opening, a holder for a stack of plates in front of the opening, feed mechanism for feeding one or more of the plates, and a clutch device arranged to actuate the feed mechanism and automatically stop the same; substantially as described.

6. In plate-feeding mechanism, side guides having front flanges, swinging fingers arranged above an opening at the bottom of the flanges, and springs arranged to yieldingly hold the fingers in position; substantially as described.

7. In plate-feeding mechanism, an inclined slotted table, vertically-extending guides at the sides of the slot, a reciprocating support having pivotal fingers within the slots, front-' holddown devices, and mechanism for reciprocating the finger-support; substantially as described.

8. The combination with a heating-furnace having a feed-opening and internal longitudinal supports arranged to receive a row of plates, of a holder adjacent to the opening and arranged to receive a stack of plates, and. 1" feed mechanism arranged to act upon the bot-' tom of the stack and feed one or more plates at a time therefrom; substantially as described.

9. Aheating-furnace for plates orbarshav- 7 7 1 ing entrance and exit openings'on opposite sides, inclined supports extending from the entrance to the exit openings and arranged.

to receive a horizontal row of plates with their ends abutting against each other, and" mechanism arranged to push upon the end of the row to feed the plates through the fur-V nace; substantially as described.

10. A heating-furnace having longitudinal 7' downwardly-inclined supports extending for- 1' 8o horizontal row of 1 wardly from an entrance to an exit opening and arranged to receive a plates with their ends abutting against each other, and push mechanism arranged to act upon the upper end plate to move the row through the furnace; substantially as described.

11. The combination with a heating-furnace having inclined supports extending from the feed-opening through the furnace, of a holder adjacent to the feed-opening and arranged to receive a stack of plates, and feed mechanism arranged to act upon the bottom I I of the stack and to force one or more plates at a time forwardly and push the row along a the inclined supports; substantially as described.

12. A heating-furnace having a feed-opening, a holder adjacent to the opening and having side guides arranged to receive a stack of plates, and feed mechanism arranged to eject from the stack a plate or plates opposite to the feed-opening; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

\ G. W. BRAY.

Witnesses:

GEO. B. BLEMING, H. M. CORVVIN. 

